Mikli Advertising Campaign Vision for Visionaires Stefan Burgi Parsons School of Design Spring 2007 Design Management Prof. N. Salvati
Mikli Vision for Visionaires I. Product Synopsis Mikli Eyewear is the top end brand for luxury eyeglasses. The company is the exclusive brand that celebrities and design influencers wear. The price is very high but in regard to the product stays accessible to a broader audience than the upper income class. The brand is widely known in Europe and Asia but still remains a rather unknown player to the US mass market. However, it is popular among the insiders of the design industry in the US. Alain Mikli the founder and senior designer is one of the most influential eyewear designers in the world and is often described as the inventor of the eyewear designer position as such. The brand has an incredible potential to hit the broader luxury and new-luxury market as the brand that differentiates itself from the mass as innovative, with superior quality, and exclusive design. II. Situation Analysis 1. Markets, Target Segments
The primary market for Mikli eyewear has been the luxury eyewear market for design leaders and influencers in Europe, Asia, as well as the US. In Europe and Asia, the brand has also an important position in the mass market as the top end brand for design and fashion sensitive people. The Eyewear industry is part of the apparel industry that has experienced steady growth over a long period of time but recently has come to a more stabile state since the emergence of the new-luxury development worldwide. The steady demand for luxury goods still remains and the market is very lucrative for innovative and fashionable brands. The biggest problem in the eyewear industry is the counterfeit of industry leader models. These fake frames that are sold worldwide at low prices with low quality get mixed into the market and are often sold as originals. The global counterfeit industry of various goods sells an estimated $440 billion, which is equivalent of 7% of global GDP. Mikli is equally disturbed and affected by counterfeit and at a recent Trade show in Italy Alain Mikli with support from the Italian police could arrange confiscate over 74,000 pairs of counterfeit glasses. One of the most affected brands in the eyewear industry is D&B, or Oakley as the main mass-market leaders in the industry. 2. Trends and Research As described the most relevant trend in regard to eyewear and accessories has been the development of new-luxury markets in various industries. The eyewear sector and its brands have developed into a mega market with several manufacturer organizations that license the big luxury names such as Marc Jacobs, Armani, Gucci, or Chanel. Several of these organizations hold licenses of brands in their corporate portfolio, which in their original industries, mostly fashion, are direct competitors. This situation has the effect that the designs across these brands are not very differentiated and that the market is extremely monotonous. However the advantage for the consumers is that these eyeglasses are accessible to a wide audience. In return eyeglasses have become more and more an accessory rather than a necessity for medical reasons and many people who wear eyeglasses own several pairs. In this respect the luxury brands have become the average eyeglasses for most young people
since the price discrepancies between luxury brand and unknown brand are at an extent that makes it affordable to wear eyeglasses designed by a luxury brand. Therefore people with a high sensitivity to exclusive design are the one s that are not served well. Since there are no real differences among the brands that differentiate themselves in other industries, the eyewear industry offers a large variety of homogenous design, but no exclusive design for key influencers and individualists. 3. SWOT Strengths: Mikli has a very good reputation in the industry for its innovative design and use of special materials, as well as its history as a designer brand that makes and designs for designers, celebrities and influencers. This reputation among the visionaries of design, film and music will be a very important part in the promotion of the brand, especially in the US. The distinctiveness of the design and the materials is also a way of promoting quality and excellence compared to the masses of competitors. Weaknesses: Mikli is a company that offers glasses at a very high price ($300 and more for a normal pair of glasses) therefore people will need evidence to support the price. However, the price is not necessarily a weakness since it reflects the superior quality of materials and research, as well as its exclusivity within the market. A possible weakness is that mikli as brand cannot be associated with luxury in other industries such as fashion in the same way other brands such as Gucci, etc. can. Therefore brand awareness among a broader audience is still low. Opportunities: Looking at the strengths and weaknesses, the Mikli brand has a very high potential to emerge as the leader of the top end eyewear markets for a broader, but exclusive target market, that is not necessarily characterized by income or status but by psychographic sensitivity towards design and innovation. The opportunity of promoting the brand as the new super-hot, must-have accessory for style-oriented
people within the new-luxury, as well as the exclusive luxury market is evident and highly profitable. The price as a label for quality and exclusiveness will not only attract rich people but also upper-middle class people that priorities their expenses according to certain fashionable accessories. Eyeglasses are different from other accessories in that they can be worn on a continuous basis, and therefore the price is regarded in a different way than when buying an object that can be worn, carried or used only on certain occasions. Threats: The major threat as mentioned above is counterfeit, and Alain Mikli is highly aware of this and has invested over $1m in patenting his designs. In order to work against and diminish counterfeit it is important for the industry to work closely with authorities on programs that make it harder to produce and sell counterfeit goods. Another possible threat is the reaction of competitors to the introduction of the mikli brand and its effect on the consumer market. However, innovation is a driving force for Mikli, and it is at the forefront in its industry. On the other hand the brands that hold the mass market consumers will have problems differentiating themselves as one brand since almost all brands are licensed and therefore the holders of the rights will apply innovations not only to one of their brands but to all brands within the same segment. 4. Competition As for competition, there are two levels of looking at competition: from the consumer s point of view, and from the manufacturer s point of view. Consumer s point of view:
For the consumer the brand and the design are the factors that affect the decision process. Glasses have to be bought in regard to design but also to fit. Certain glasses may have a great design, but they don t fit with the form of the face. Therefore, and regarding the relative small differences in design variation, meaning every brand offers more or less the same basic design families in their collection with small differences that can only be seen at a closer look. This has the effect that the brand loses its value in regard to the decision of the customer. It is more important how the glasses fit, than what brand it is. And besides, except certain brands such as D&G or Versace the logo of the brand can hardly be identified unless up-close. Manufacturer s point of view: In the eyeglass industry there are very few but very large corporations that hold the brand names and design and produce products for them. Mikli does not belong to a corporation and designs its glasses in-house, and offers signature lines by well known designers that stand for innovation and differentiate themselves among each other.
For example Phillippe Starck and Issey Myake are lines that each have their distinctive design element. Phillippe Starck designs glasses that reflect the designer s innovative Bio-Design that can be seen in his other products, while Issey Myake s glasses go under the theme of Dragonflys and can be folded. Mikli design itself also differentiates itself from all other brands through its colors, unusual patterns, materials and forms. Of course Mikli is much smaller than all of the other manufacturers but it is highly differentiated and unique within the industry. This has the effect that people value this and feel unique with their Mikli glasses. This has implications for the promotion of the brand. III. Marketing Mix Strategy Product: The product in itself is perfectly defined in the way it is now. The design is excellent and the materials are of highest quality. In fact, the product itself is the leading within its industry. In regard to the new US positioning the product does not need to be changed at all. There are several different collections and lines that speak to different styles, and with different materials, from special plastics as well as metals. Price: As mentioned above Mikli glasses are superpremium priced because of its quality, design and the fact that Mikli glasses are not part of a large holding and licensing manufacturer. According to the different materials there are different prices and metals such as platinum frames are higher priced than the plastic models. The price as such is one more demonstration of quality and looking at the product, if the price was much lower it would almost be suspicious. Therefore the price will be one of the important factors in establishing the top end position of the brand and undermine the exclusivity of the product. Place: At the moment Mikli glasses can be bought at select dealers throughout Europe and Asia. The stores that carry the brand mostly have separate product display shelves
designed by Mikli to differentiate them at first glance. The shelves display the collections according to line, as for example the Red line that, as the name says is dominated by all-red or partially red frames. This is very important for attracting customers and to create a fully differentiated display, as well as brand representation. Currently there is one store in the US owned and operated by Mikli, which is located in NYC on Madison Avenue. However the store does not live up to its potential and in regard to location there have to be changes made in order to penetrate the broader market in the US. An upgraded and larger Flagship store has to be created in NYC, which will not only portray the products but also host exhibitions and events for influencers and exclusive audiences. It is also necessary that the major style metropolises in the US (LA and Miami) are targeted for boutiques in the style districts. This is also important in New York and boutiques have to be opened in areas such as SoHo and Chelsea. Apart from Mikli owned boutiques, select dealer outlets have to found such as the MoMA design store and other high-end design oriented stores that do not necessarily have to be opticians. At the moment Mikli glasses can also be bought over Internet for the US. Promotion: In regard to promotion Mikli has to build up a substantial program in order to penetrate the US market in the broader sense. At the moment there aren t any campaigns running and therefore it is important to coordinate the campaign with outlet openings and the opening of the flagship store. The campaign has to be effective in establishing the brand as a one-brand market, the market of vision for visionaries. IV. Creative Recommendations 1. Target Audience The target audience for Mikli eyeglasses ranges in demographics but shares psychographics. Whereas the income and age of the target market varies and is
accommodated by different models and collections, the main importance in regard to the customers lays in specific points of ideology. The most important factor is that the target audience has a very well developed sense for style, trend, and fashion as well as art and design. These individuals are influencers for other people and strive for self-actualization, and even more. It is very important to them that they are at the forefront of consumer trends and share a common value in creativity in various industries. These people are designers of their own identity and know exactly how they want to represent themselves through what they wear, eat, drink, say and think. They do not belong to one social class but to an intellectual and artistic community of creative minds. Therefore they spend a lot of money on products that promote their vision of lifestyle. The range in regard to income goes from middle to upper to upper-upper class. As in regard to age these people can be young adults that value trendy scenes in the creative fields, and older more mature people with a statement of style. Characteristically these people live in urban areas, mostly in the big cities like New York, LA or Miami. They all have idols that they use to define themselves in order to become unique themselves, this not by copying them but by admiring their visions.
2. The Copy Platform Advertising Objectives: The objective for the Mikli campaign is to create awareness in the target market and to promote the brand in relation to its extension of stores and outlets. Advertising Strategy: The campaign aims at positioning the brand as a top end and exclusive eyeglass company that makes a statement about the target audience s personality and identity within the trend scene of the urban landscape. The brand stands for people with visions about themselves and about what they want to represent, therefore the brand and its products enables the customer to establish a vision of their own. With Mikli eyeglasses you see things you can t see with other glasses. It is the kaleidoscope for a progressive mind to envision creativity and style within.
The Major Selling Idea: As mentioned above, the product is in its nature for people with a high sensitivity for style, therefore the main selling idea or key benefit that target customers will gain from the product is vision. Vision not only as motorical attribute but vision in a creative sense in order to generate ideas and a vision of the customers own identity in his environment. Advertising Appeals: The campaign will exclusively have an emotional appeal, which will create aspirational emotions and applied visions of oneself enhanced by the product. The ads will create emotions that show the user how the product can help change your life for the better, more productive, more individualistic, and more exclusive life of an emotional and creative person. The feeling that the advertisements will evoke are feelings of admiration as well as the projection of this admiration towards one self. In a way the advertising campaign will combine rational and emotional appeals in a way that emotions are drawn from the atmosphere and content of the ads, but the product itself has a very high rational appeal as such since it offers the highest quality material and the most innovative design. This rational appeal, however will not be promoted on the conscious level, instead it will be generated through the emotional bond of the product with the audience. Advertising Execution Format: For the campaign the main execution theme is celebrity advertising. However, these celebrities are not the mainstream celebrities such as Britney Spears etc. These celebs are visionaries in certain creative fields such as directors, designers, artists, or actors. They all portray an example of people who had a vision and followed this vision in order to fulfill their personal self-actualization and beyond. People such as Andy Warhol or Pedro Almodovar, Tim Burton, Jean-Paul Gaultier, etc. The celebrities will be selected according to different creative genres, as well as age defining groups for baby-boomers, as well as gen-x, and early gen-y. This means that for example, Jean-Paul Gaultier will appeal to people with the major passion for fashion, whereas Pedro Almodovar will appeal to people interested in Film and Photography.
This will function according to the meaning principle of advertising in regard to celebrity endorsement. Statement: The campaign will be based on the principle of visionaries. People who strive for individuality and self-actualization have a very particular view of themselves and of how they want to portray themselves to others. These people also have idols that they admire, which they do not copy but take inspiration from. To place contemporary and iconic idols will connect the individual inspiration drawn from these idols and project it onto the product. The meaning that the product gains from this transmission has the effect that the target audience will feel that through wearing Mikli glasses they undermine and re-enforce their own vision and that they, too, can be idols and leaders of contemporary urban culture. Creative Executions:
V. Media Recommendations 1) Target Audience
The target audience as described above will be within the spectrum of design and fashion oriented audiences. Mostly 23-50 year old male and females within urban environments. Income level from upper-middle to upper-upper class. All ethnicities with emphasize on Caucasian. 2) Media Objectives Reach Target Market through a combination of media vehicles within the print media and a combination of reach and frequency. 3) Media Strategy Use magazines in the fields of fashion, lifestyle and design targeted to both men and women between 23-50. Schedule media use to coincide with opening of Mikli stores in New York, Miami, and LA. 4) Media Plan Media Mix and Rationale: The media mix will concentrate on two major parts: Print Media and the opening of the Mikli stores in New York, LA, and Miami. Print: The print media is the most important part of the advertising campaign for Mikli since it will be placed in magazines that are published monthly. This means that people who read the magazine will be exposed to the ads for a long period of time in order to let the brand in their consciousness. The readership of the magazines is very specific and therefore very effective for choosing the right magazine for the right target market. Geographically, these magazines (listed below) will allow Mikli to choose exactly which consumers to reach and therefore the waste coverage will be minimized. Efficiency in cost is also a major reason for choosing print media since it
is less expensive than broadcast in regard to production and media placement. The print ads will bear the website address and therefore web traffic will be counted as secondary media consideration. Chosen Media Vehicles: WallPaper: (Monthly) The style bible: For the past decade, Wallpaper* has championed the best design. It has become the international authority on the cutting edge and the classic, the new and the rediscovered. It s all about the best. From fashion to travel, from interiors to jewellery, and from architecture to motoring, the aesthetic that surrounds you was first championed by Wallpaper*. With an unrivalled stable of international contributors and editors, distribution in over 70 countries and unparalleled success in reaching the design elite the world over, Wallpaper* has gained global awareness and appeal. Readers: Wallpaper* readers are affluent young professionals and voracious consumers with enormous spending power. They actively buy into the products and services they read about in the magazine. Research shows they are passionate about design in all its forms. They live and breathe architecture, interiors and fashion, and are often leaders in these fields, looking to Wallpaper* For the latest news, as well as for inspiration From our unrivalled coverage of modern design. Rather than being mere spectators, our readers live in the Wallpaper* world and have access to a seamless international marketplace, the ultimate consumer dream. A few reader statistics 60/40 male/female Median age is 34 43% are single, 29% are married, 28% live with a partner 76% live in the city centre Mean personal income is 53,816/ 80,410/$102,690 Mean household income is 82,040/ 122,560/$156,555 Two thirds work in creative industries Rising circulation of +110,000 30% UK 30% Europe 30% US 10% Rest of the world Rate: Full Page Color
$18,800 V Magazine: (Quarterly) The median age of the v reader is 28. Demographic breakdown: 70% of v readers are female, 30% are male. V Magazine was launched in September 1999, and is a fashion, art, and lifestyle magazine focused on a young, sophisticated, and international audience of men and women who want style, stars, and stories before they re news anywhere else. V reaches the decision makers and Trend-Shapers who exert influence on Art, Fashion, Music, and Pop Culture. V readers like to share with their friends an average of 4.2 readers see each issue! The average combined household income of v readers is $150,000. Blackbook: (Bi-Monthly) Blackbook is a sophisticated, i ntelligent, and visually striking journal of progressive culture that covers the arts, fashion, politics, and lifestyle. It amplifies the more daring impulses in pop culture, tapping into the underground and bringing it just shy of the mainstream. Blackbook is a magazine for visually weaned generation of young men and women who are in search of an alternative voice. Age: 21+ 91% 18-34 63.2% 35+ 36.8% Median Age: 29 Gender: Female 61% Male 39% Marital status: Single 80% Married 20%
Education: College Graduate 88% Occupation: Fashion, entertainment, media, arts 59% Professional, managerial 41% Income: HHI $65,000+ 75.5% HHI $85,000+ 67.1% HHI $105,000+ 56.8% Circulation: northeast 57,750 35% west coast 41,250 25% midwest 33,000 20% southeast 16,500 10% southwest 1,650 1% international 14,850 9% TOTAL 165,000 100% Rate: 1 Full Page Color $16 975, (3 ti: $16 126 / 6ti: $ 15 277) Time Style & Design: (Quarterly) The magazine capitalizes on the authority and global reach of Time magazine. It serves as the readers guide to the increasingly influential worlds of style and design. Rate: $69 750 Scheduling Pattern: For scheduling the advertising will start in October 2007 on a continuity basis with placements each month for 6 months-followed by a new campaign in the same spirit in order to keep a reputation for innovation and evolution.
VI. Budget Overview: Mikli Revenues int.: $56 135 000 Advertising Budget US: $1 000 000 VII. Campaign Flowchart Campaign Store Openings: NYC LA Miami Oct.07 Nov.07 Dec.07 Jan.08 Feb.08 Mar.08 Apr.08 May08 Jun.08 Magazines: Price($): V Magazine 147'000 Time S&D 209'500 Wallpaper 225'000 Blackbook 183324 Total: 764824 VIII. Measurement and Evaluation Since it is very hard to measure the effectiveness of advertisements accurately and with hard proof, increased attention will be laid on the relative increases in sales according to the new shops, and the time of purchases according to the release dates of magazines. If one looks at the date when magazines are released and the increase in sales during the first week, as well as the proportionate increase in sales and its evolution in regard to the opening of the new stores one can estimate if how much of the sales are to be accounted for in regard to the new location and how much can be accounted for in regard to the magazine release, especially to subscribers. Additionally to these measurements, there will be measurement of visit increase to the Mikli website since this will be an important part of the campaign success. IX. Conclusion
The Mikli Advertisisng campaign 07-08 is the campaign to introduce the Mikli brand to the US market. By using the the high potential of the brand through its history with Alain Mikli as the innovator of the notion of a eyewear designer and his exquisite designs for several leaders of fashion, music, and art, the brand will be positioned as the top end style brand for innovators and visionaries. Thus the theme for the campaign goes under the notion of Vision of Visionaires, which attracts highly individual influencers that know what they want and who they want to be. Mikli eyewear is there to undermine this lifestyle and offer a kaleidoscope for each individual s vision of him or herself. This can be achieved in several easy but in regard to the U.S. culture and its affection for idols and icons, the implementation through celebrity endorsement in an innovative way is most effective. Innovative celebrity endorsement means to pick celebrities that are not admired by the mainstream but by a very exclusive group of special interest. These groups in the case of Mikli would be influencers of the design and arts professions. Everyone has a contemporary idol that he or she looks up to, in the case of Mikli consumers, these idols are just very particular and more exclusive. The Mikli products reflect this search for quality and visual excellence and therefore is placed as a high premium product, which is for people that value these values of the Mikli brand and products. X. Bibliography Advertising Principles- Belch&Belch, Prentice Hall Luxury for the Masses Silverstein, Eicke Harvard Business Review D&B million dollar database SRDS print 07 www.mikli.com www.blackbookmag.com www.vmagazine.com www.times.com http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/7151248/new_york_ny/alain_mikli.html http://www.eyecarebiz.com/article.aspx?article=50796